Scientist worries about damage to “SPERM and EGG CELLS” of cleanup workers from past oil disaster

The study, which appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine, included 501 fishermen who helped clean up spilled oil after the tanker Prestige sank off the coast of Spain in November 2002. The researchers compared the workers with a similar group of 176 fishermen who did not participate in the cleanup efforts. ...

[T]he researchers found higher rates of chromosome changes in the white blood cells of the exposed fishermen -- changes that have been linked to an increased risk of cancer in other studies, says Gina Solomon, M.D., a senior scientist with the National Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental group.

"Given these chromosomal abnormalities, I'd also worry about effects on sperm and egg cells," says Solomon, who was not involved in the study.